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Though some voters have already submitted their mail-in ballots, others will likely drop them off at the polls today to play their part in our democracy. If you’re one of them, and still need to fill out your ballot, the helpful team at Voice of San Diego made this handy Election Guide.
The main races we’ve been watching are the race for County Sheriff, Chula Vista Mayor, Assembly District 80 and San Diego City Council District 2.
There are three leading contenders who we’ve been following closely in the San Diego Sheriff’s race, which for the first time in decades is actually an open contest, as Jesse Marx reported last month.
The race for Council District 2 is quite interesting. We noted in the latest Politics Report that Councilwoman Jen Campbell recently loaned herself some money. We also looked into what the candidates think about lifting the height limit in the Midway/Sports Arena area.
The Assembly District 80 race has us (and other politics nerds) absolutely buzzing. Andrew Keatts reported on how the race has ended a friendship between candidates David Alvarez and Georgette Gómez. He also previews a new dynamic in San Diego politics. Read that here.
The candidates in the crowded race to replace Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas have mostly focused on promising residents that they will bring decades-old promises and projects to the finish line. Our Andrea Lopez-Villafaña spoke to residents about what they want from their next city leader and here’s what they had to say.
Read our other election stories here.
The Elections Contest Is Back. Enter to Win!
How good are you at predicting results? Enter our elections contest to win a lunch with Voice editors.
Rules and entry info here. Good luck.
Related: If you don’t win, don’t worry you’ll have an opportunity to meet us. Join us for a live podcast on Thursday, June 9, at Novo Brazil Brewing in the Otay Ranch Town Center at 6 p.m. Our editors and guests will dish out some election observations and give some special consideration to South Bay politics news. Get your tickets here. Voice members get in for free.
Baja’s LGBTQ Community Celebrates Legislative Changes
Thousands are expected to attend this year’s Marcha de Orgullo, or gay pride parade, in Tijuana on June 25. That’s much different than the few hundred people who marched down Avenida Revolucion, writes Voice contributor Sandra Dibble in the latest Border Report.
The movement is stronger, broader and more visible in Baja California now than in those early days. And most recently the LGBTQ+ community in Baja has celebrated some hard-won victories. That includes a formal change to the state constitution that allows same-sex couples to marry without a court order. And a law that allows transgender adults to legally change their name and gender.
But advocates say the battle is far from over. There are still concerns about laws that don’t go far enough to offer protection and rights to the LGBTQ+ community.
Read the Border Report in its entirety here.
Gloria Defends Bolstered Homeless Enforcement
Mayor Todd Gloria on Monday defended the city’s bolstered efforts to crack down on downtown homeless camps that had been growing for months.
The Monday press conference was the latest marker of a major shift for the Democrat who as mayoral candidate criticized predecessor Kevin Faulconer’s policing of homelessness and pledged that on his watch the city would stop “criminalizing the existence of San Diego’s poorest and sickest residents.”
On Monday, as NBC 7 San Diego reports, Gloria promised to continue using the so-called progressive enforcement model of offering homeless residents shelter before writing tickets or making arrests for offenses associated with homelessness.
Read what the mayor had to say here.
Slow Border Crossings Mean High Emissions at a Bad Time for the Planet
The hours-long waits to cross into both the U.S. and Mexico cost the region billions of dollars and thousands of jobs, an issue a binational group decided to tackle at a forum last week, reports KPBS Gustavo Solis.
But solving this issue would help with another problem the story didn’t mention: air pollution.
Vehicle traffic often sits idle for hours making the slow creep crossing from Tijuana into San Diego. A 2021 report from SANDAG referenced by Solis shows the regional planning agency estimated that traffic emitted 1,238 kilograms of carbon dioxide per day in 2016 – that’s around 2,730 pounds.
In Other News
- Some California lawmakers want to buy-out farmers’ dibs on water from rivers and streams that helped turn the state’s Central Valley into an agricultural powerhouse. (Associated Press)
- Kristen Taketa at the San Diego Union-Tribune detailed how and why the San Dieguito Union High School District has fallen into a state of chaos after cycling through superintendents, losing board members and facing high-profile lawsuits.
- Families whose young children became ill after visiting the San Diego County Fair will receive million-dollar settlements from the state board that runs the Del Mar Fairgrounds. (Union Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, MacKenzie Elmer and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Scott Lewis.